Islam Times - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the US will not strike North Korea because it knows the country possesses nuclear weapons.

“Americans won’t strike [North] Korea, because not only do they suspect, but know for sure that Pyongyang has nuclear weapons,” Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Russia’s NTV channel.

“Regarding this issue, President [Vladimir] Putin has repeatedly said it was impossible to imagine that the US or someone else has 100 percent information on all of the [nuclear] objects,” he added.

“I’m not defending North Korea, I’m just saying that virtually everybody agrees with such analysis,” said the minister, adding that if the US hasn’t considered this assessment yet, then “the situation could spiral out of control, so that thousands, dozens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands innocent people will suffer in South Korea, as well as in the North, certainly in Japan, with Russia and China nearby too,” Lavrov noted.

“The US carried out strikes on Iraq solely because they were 100 percent sure there were no weapons of mass destruction,” Lavrov said.

The remarks by Lavrov come amid a war of words between US President Donald Trump and North Korea. In the latest incident, Trump increased the rhetoric against North Korea again at the weekend, warning the country’s foreign minister that he and leader Kim Jong Un “won’t be around much longer”, as Pyongyang staged a major anti-US rally.

North Korea’s Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho told the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday that targeting the US mainland with its rockets was inevitable after “Mr Evil President” Trump called Pyongyang’s leader a “rocket man” on a suicide mission.

Trump also insulted the North Korean leader personally during his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly this week, calling him "rocket man" and saying that he was on a "suicide mission" if he keeps developing his nuclear weapons program. In response, Kim released an unprecedented personal rebuke, calling Trump a "dotard", and a "frightened dog".

The current tensions on the Korean Peninsula started following increased provocations by the US which includes military drills and deployment of warships and submarines in the region.

Pyongyang insists that developing its military defenses including nuclear weapons is important to counter incessant provocations by the US including a possible nuclear aggression.